What did Apostle Paul teach about the law of God?

Are Old Testament laws no longer valid?

In 1948, well-known biblical scholar W.D. Davies said,

"It has long been a matter of controversy among New Testament scholars how best we should
interpret the theology of Paul."

This remark is as true today as it was then - especially concerning the study of Paul's view of
the Old Testament law.

The apostle describes the law as a "custodian" from which the Christian has been set free; yet,
at the same time, he views the law as "holy and just and good." He affirms that only "the
doers of the law will be justified," yet declares that all who are in Christ have "died to the
law." To Paul, the law is both "spiritual" and "the power of sin."

Little wonder Paul's epistles evoke so much controversy!

Yet, as controversial as they are among scholars, Paul's seemingly conflicting comments on the
law can be easily understood. The solution lies in understanding that the law plays more than
one role in its relationship to us.

Roles of the Law

Many of Paul's positive statements about the law are reminiscent of the meditations of Psalm
119, and pertain to only one role of the law.

The Psalmist states,

"Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me
wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my
teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I
keep your precepts....Your testimonies are my heritage for ever; yea, they are the joy of
my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes for ever, to the end" (Psalm 119:97,
100,111,112).

Similarly, Paul affirms that

"the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12).

Like the Psalmist, Paul internalizes God's commandments.

"For I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self," (verse 22).

The apostle strongly denounces the idea that Christians, through faith, "overthrow the law," declaring instead that
"we uphold the law" (Romans 3:31).

The Psalmist declares that God's "word" - His revealed will as expressed through His law-

"is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105).

It informs its hearers of the attitudes and actions that please and displease God. Similarly, Paul affirms that:

"All scripture" (which certainly includes the Torah, or section known as "the Law") is "profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

The law, then, is God's moral and ethical standard, the means through which His good and perfect will is revealed.
Meditation upon the law and obedience to its commandments result in wisdom, knowledge, insight, and
understanding. It is indeed a "lamp to our feet" and "light to our path." It teaches us how to live!

The term Torah, translated "law" in the Old Testament, literally means "teaching." The name itself indicates that the
primary purpose of the law is to teach! This is precisely the function of the law the Psalmist has in mind in his poetic
descriptions of the law as the source of knowledge, wisdom, and instruction in righteousness. This is the educative
role of the law.

However, the law has another function - and understanding this function is vital to a correct understanding of the
"hard sayings" of Paul's epistles. This second function is best described as the judicial role of the law.

In its second function, the law acts as a "custodian", but only for those who are not "in Christ." It is this role of the
law Paul has in mind when he says,

"You are not under the law but under grace" (Romans 6:14),

and when he describes the law as a "custodian" that kept us under its power "until Christ came" (Galatians 3:24).

To understand the judicial role of the law, it is first necessary to understand the relationship between the law and sin.

Paul writes,

"What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have
known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.' But sin,
finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies
dead" (Romans 7:7,8).

If there were no law, sin would not exist. But because there is a law, sin does exist. Therefore, it is through the law
that we become aware that we are sinners; it is "through the commandment" that sin "become[s] sinful beyond
measure" (Romans 7:13). It is this relationship between sin and the law that Paul has in view when he says,

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law" (1Corinthians 15:56)

and when he explains that our "sinful passions" were "aroused by the law" (Romans 7:5).

Paul points out that sin entered the world through Adam's trespass, and that the

"Law came in, to increase the trespass" (Romans 5:20).

Again, notice the relationship between sin and the law.

By identifying sin, and by making us aware that we are sinners and therefore under condemnation, the law informs us
of our need for a Savior - One who can blot out our record of sins and deliver us from the sentence of death. But until
we come to the Savior, the law holds us in custody, declaring us sinners and pronouncing the death sentence upon us.
In this limited sense, the law is a curse to us.

The law, then, has two roles:

First, it is our instructor (the educative role), revealing to us God's way of life-the path He desires that we follow. It
expresses the good and perfect will of God, not only explicitly through its many commandments, statutes, and
judgments, but implicitly through the creation and historical narratives.

Second, the law acts as our custodian (the judicial role), but only until we come to conversion through faith in Christ.
By identifying us as sinners and demanding punishment for our sins, the law holds us in custody. Knowledge of the
law's high standards increases our moral awareness and personal responsibility, thus eliminating ignorance as an
excuse. Now, sin becomes exceedingly sinful.

But when we come to conversion through faith in Christ, the law's role as custodian is abolished. No longer can the
law demand our death, for God has declared us "Not guilty!" No longer can the law declare us transgressors, for the
record of our sins has been blotted out. The curse of the law has been removed (Galatians 3:13).

Knowledge of the two roles of the law sheds significant light on the seemingly contradictory passages of Paul's
epistles. We should now be able to see how Paul can insist upon meeting the requirements of the law (as in Galatians
5:13-21), while, without contradiction, speaking of the law's transitory role (Galatians 3:19, 24-25).

Roles of the Law in the Book of Galatians

In the book of Galatians, Paul admonishes his readers to permit themselves to be instructed from the law. He writes,

"Tell me, you who desire to be under law [i.e., "you who would be justified by the law" (Galatians 5:4), which is
contrary to the purpose of the law], do you not hear the law?" (Galatians 4:21).

Paul goes on to derive an important truth from a narrative taken from the Torah (verses 22-31). By calling upon the
Galatians to listen to the law (or Torah), and by showing them how the law supports his teaching, Paul is
acknowledging the perennial nature of the educative role of the law.

Paul further upholds this role of the law in his warnings against engaging in the "works of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19-
21), all of which are condemned-either directly or in principle-by the law. To Paul, the works of the flesh violate the
summation commandment, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," which accords with "walking by the Spirit"
(verses 14-18). If the standards of behavior set forth in the law were no longer valid, why does Paul cite a
commandment directly from the law? Obviously, the apostle recognizes the perpetual nature of the educative role of
the so-called "Old Testament" law.

But he also recognizes the judicial role of the law.

After pointing out that the inheritance given to Abraham (and to Abraham's "offspring") is based on promise, not law,
Paul writes,

"Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the offspring should come to whom the promise
had been made..." (Galatians 3:19).

The law was "added" in the sense that it was given in codified form at Sinai in the time of Moses. Of course, this does
not mean that the principles set forth in the law were previously unknown, or that murder, adultery, theft, lying,
coveting, dishonoring parents, and so forth, were not sins before the law was received at Sinai.

The law was added "because of transgressions" - that is, to identify transgressions. As pointed out above, the
knowledge of sin has the effect of increasing awareness of one's own sinful nature, and results in greater personal
responsibility. Without the excuse of ignorance, sin becomes exceedingly sinful; transgressions are increased; a person
becomes fully aware of his sinfulness and of his need for a Savior. When he repents of his transgressions, and turns to
God through faith in Christ (the "offspring") for forgiveness, his transgressions-not the law! - are blotted out. In this
way, the law acts as our custodian until we come to Christ through faith.

Now, how does the justification of a sinner affect his relationship to the law?

Paul continues,

"Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So
that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has
come, we are no longer under a custodian" (Galatians 3:23-25).

Paul is speaking of the second function of the law-the judicial role. While we were sinners, without Christ in the
world, the law acted as our custodian. It declared us sinners, and demanded that we pay the penalty for sin. Sin,
working through the law, became utterly sinful. We were made aware of our hopeless condition, and of our need of a
Savior, a Redeemer, who could deliver us from the power of the law. This is how the law acts as a custodian to bring
us to Christ.

But once we arrive-once we are "in Christ" - the law can no longer identify and condemn us as transgressors. Its
purpose is no longer to lead us to Christ, for we have already arrived. Therefore, for us, the law is no longer a
custodian. That's what Paul means when he says, "But now that faith [in Christ] has come, we are no longer under
a custodian."

However, it is extremely important to understand that the abolishment of the law's role as custodian for those who
come to Christ does not result in the abolishment of the educative role of the law. God's holy law is still-and forever
will be - a "lamp unto our feet" and "light unto our path." Even after we come to Christ, we continue to derive
understanding and wisdom from the law, and we continue to obey its commandments, now relying upon the Holy
Spirit to strengthen us in our weakness.

Dead to the Law

Paul uses an interesting analogy to describe the judicial role of the law. He explains that just as a woman whose
husband has died "is discharged from the law concerning the husband" and is now free to marry another man, so
we, having "died to the law," are free to "belong to another, to him that has been raised from the dead . . ."
(Romans 7:14).

Paul did not say that the law died; he said that we died to the law, meaning that the judicial demands of the law, which
identified us as sinners and demanded the death penalty, were fulfilled through the substitutionary death of Christ.
Now, having "died to the law through the body of Christ" (verse 4), having been "baptized into his death"
(Romans 6:3), we belong to Christ "in order that we may bear fruit for God" (Romans 7:4).

Once we are "in Christ," we are

"discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code
but in the new life of the Spirit" (verse 6).

The "old written code" refers to the judicial role of the law. For us-provided we are in Christ-the law can no longer
identify and punish us as sinners, for our record of past sins has been blotted out. It is now our responsibility to serve
"in the new life of the Spirit."
Serving in "the new life of the Spirit" means striving to no longer break God's law. As Paul says,

"I delight in the law of God, in my inmost self" (Romans 7:22),

and,

"I, of myself serve the law of God with my mind..." (verse 25).

In Romans 6 and 7, Paul refers to both the educative and judicial roles of the law. The judicial role called for our
death, which was fulfilled in Christ's substitutionary death; the educative role calls for our obedience, which is
fulfilled through the new life in the Spirit.

In Christ, we are no longer under the law's power to identify and punish us as sinners, for God has provided a means
whereby we have been set free from the law's judicial demands. That's what Paul means when he says,

"You are not under the law but under grace" (verse 14).

Perhaps now we can understand why Paul associated the Ten Commandments with the "dispensation of death" (2
Corinthians 3:7). Until our record of sins was abolished through faith in Christ, the commandments identified us as
sinners, and the law demanded our death. But now, being set free from sin, we "walk in newness of life" (Romans
6:4), obeying God's law from the heart.

Now that the law's role as custodian has been abolished-now that we have been set free from the curse of the law-we
can fully appreciate the law as God's glorious standard for living; as a wellspring of knowledge, wisdom,
understanding; as a "lamp to our feet" and "light to our path."

Only now, having been set free from the bondage of sin, is the full glory of God's holy law revealed to us.

Now we can truly sing, "Oh, how I love your law!"

Is the Law a "Schoolmaster"?

Speaking of the role the law plays in bringing individuals to Christ, Paul uses the word paidagogos, from which
pedagogue is derived. The term is translated "tutor" in the New American Standard Bible, "schoolmaster" in the King
James Version, and "custodian" in the Revised Standard Version.

In the Greco-Roman world, the paidagogos, usually a slave, served as disciplinarian and guardian of his master's
children until they reached maturity. In Galatians, Paul is emphasizing the law's role of identifying and punishing
transgressions. Therefore, the term paidagogos is best translated "custodian." "Schoolmaster" is an unfortunate
translation.

Before we came to faith in Christ, Paul says, we were

"confined under the law, kept under restraint..." (Galatians 3:23, RSV);

"kept in custody under the law, being shut up..." (NASB);

"imprisoned and guarded under the law..." (NRSV);

"kept under the law, shut up..." (KJV);

"held prisoners by the law, locked up..." (NIV).

Paul's description seems to reflect popular depictions of the paidagogos as a very harsh, sometimes cruel,
disciplinarian. Being under the paidagogos is likened to being imprisoned.

Paul is not speaking of the ceremonial/sacrificial part of the law only; he has the entirety of the Siniatic covenant in
view. By identifying sin and requiring punishment for the sinner, the law takes on the role of custodian. But once we
come to faith in Christ, symbolized by a child reaching maturity, the law's role as custodian ends. It can no longer
identify our past sins or punish us as sinners because Christ has removed all guilt. We are no longer "kept in
custody."

Justification-being made righteous before God-can only be accomplished through faith in Christ. The Galatians were
beginning to abandon this most important truth, and were seeking justification by the law-or someone's interpretation
of the law. They were, in effect, reviving the law's role as custodian. When Christ is abandoned, the record of sins
reappears and the law once again issues the verdict of "Guilty!"

Paul warns against this wrong use of the law. He writes,

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery"
(Galatians 5:1).

Warning! Seeking justification by the law (rather than through faith in Christ) is not the only way to revive the law's
role of identifying and punishing transgressions. Returning to a life of sin - the "works of the flesh" - will accomplish
the same.

After listing the works of the flesh, Paul writes,

"I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God"
(Galatians 5:19-21).

The "Added Law"

Many believe that the law "added because of transgressions" (Galatians 3:19) was the ceremonial/sacrificial law,
which involved a tabernacle, or temple, an officiating priesthood, special rituals and ceremonies, and animal
sacrifices. According to this view, the term added strictly means "came into existence." This automatically rules out
the Ten Commandments as part of the "added law" because the Ten Commandments were in force before the children
of Israel came to Sinai.

Paul tells us that this law was added "because of transgressions." It has been said that the existence of transgressions
indicates that another law-the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments - must have been in existence before the law of
Galatians 3:19 was added.

It has also been argued that the word till in "till the offspring should come" indicates that the added law exhausted its
purpose and was abolished when the "offspring" (Christ) came. The added law could not be the Ten Commandments,
this view asserts, because the New Testament affirms that the Ten Commandments remain in force for Christians.
While this view seems plausible, it has its problems. One problem is that "the law" in Paul's epistles usually refers to
the law in general. The apostle's repeated references to "the law" in Galatians casts serious doubt upon the above
"added law" theory.

In Galatians, Paul speaks of different roles of the law, not different parts of the law. The entire law was in fact "added"
at Sinai. While one can easily prove that specific laws-laws against murder, idolatry, adultery, blasphemy, and so
forth-were in force before the time of Moses, it is nevertheless true that the law that was given at Sinai had not
previously existed in precisely that form. It was therefore "added" - came to be - at Mount Sinai in the time of Moses.

Paul is telling his readers that the promise of inheritance given to Abraham preceded the giving of the law (Galatians
3:16,17). The promise came first; the law was added later. Paul's point is that the inheritance is based on the promise,
not on a law that came later.

In other passages, Paul speaks of the law in similar terms, and he is clearly not speaking of the ceremonial/sacrificial
aspects of the law only. In the book of Romans, he speaks of a time when the "Law came in..." (5:20). The context
shows that the law "came in" at some point between the time of Adam and the time of Christ. The law that "came in"
was the entire body of terms set forth in the Siniatic covenant.

The phrase "because of transgressions" means simply that the law made transgressions known. It identified sin, and
(to its disobedient hearers) resulted in sin becoming "sinful beyond measure" (Romans 7:13). As Paul says,

"Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin" (Romans 7:7).

The phrase "till the offspring should come" does not refer to the temporary nature of the ceremonial law; nor does it
mean that the law as God's standard of behavior, or code of ethics and morality (i.e., the educative role), would be
rendered invalid once Christ had come. It simply means that the law's role as a custodian (see accompanying article)
ends where faith in Christ begins. The transgressions are abolished-not the law!

The ceremonial/sacrificial law was a part of the Law of Moses from the beginning. It was not added later. However, it
should be noted that the sacrificial system did function as a disciplinary device. Therefore, when the law's role as
custodian ceases for those who have come to Christ, the disciplinary measures are no longer required.

Jeremiah 7:21-23 does not mean that the sacrificial law was later added to the terms of the covenant as a result of
Israel's sins, as some have thought. The passage reads:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.
For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them
concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this I commanded them, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God,
and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.'"

God did give the Israelites commands concerning sacrifices - even before they departed Egypt. What He means here is
that He never commanded sacrifices without moral responsibility. God is not pleased with mere sacrifices. He is not
like the pagan gods, who were thought to be appeased with a certain number of sacrificial offerings. To God,
sacrifices without a heart of obedience are worthless (see Psalm 51:16-19). That's why He tells Israel to treat both
types of offerings (burnt offerings and sacrifices) the same: They are worthless to Him because the offerers do not
have the heart of obedience that truly pleases God.

All Scripture quotations were taken from the Revised Standard Version except as noted.

Written by: Vance Stinson